The 26-year-old has been diligent in his rehabilitation and refusing to look too far ahead, even admitting that he may be forced to sit out the Australian Open in Melbourne early next year.

But Henman, who'll be playing at the Grand Opening of the Statoil Masters at The Royal Albert Hall on 4th Dec in aid of child health charity Best Beginnings, has backed his good friend to make the right call and has urged the need for caution when returning from any injury - even with a grand slam on the horizon.

"I've seen a fair bit of him in the last month and it seems like he's making good progress," he said.

"I like what I see and what I hear but it's very important he doesn't come back until he's 100 per cent. There's no point in rushing it, especially given the standard at the top of the game these days.

"You can't compete unless you're 100 per cent so Andy needs to remain patient. There's obviously a carrot there with the first grand slam of the year but he's got to be realistic.

"You're playing five-set matches and you need to be ready for that. The last thing he will want to do is come back too early and suffer a setback that would put him out for longer."

Henman knows from his own experiences with injury that it's crucial to get recovery right and hopes that having taking some time out Murray can return fit and firing and better than ever.

"I had shoulder and elbow surgery while I was playing and I can remember what a frustrating time it was," he added.

"Injuries are part and parcel of the game and the reality is with the amount of tennis that they play most players will be playing with niggles pretty much all of the time.

"But this is something that has been giving him pain down his leg and it's stopping him doing a lot of things. He's 26, he's got a lot of his career ahead of him. This is about enabling him to become a better player."

Tim Henman will be playing at the Grand Opening of the Statoil Masters at The Royal Albert Hall on 4th Dec, in aid of .